1. Field
The present disclosure relates to metal-air batteries, vehicle systems including the metal-air batteries, and methods of driving the vehicle systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
A metal-air battery includes a plurality of metal-air cells, and each of the metal-air cells includes a negative electrode that may occlude and release ions and a positive electrode that uses oxygen in air as an active material. Reduction and oxidation of oxygen that is introduced from the outside occurs at the positive electrode, and oxidation and reduction of a metal occur at the negative electrode. Chemical energy that is generated during these reactions is converted into electrical energy and the electrical energy is extracted. For example, a metal-air battery absorbs oxygen during discharging and emits oxygen during charging. Since a metal-air battery uses oxygen that is present in air, an energy density of the metal-air battery may be greatly increased. For example, a metal-air battery may have an energy density that is several times higher than an energy density of an existing lithium-ion battery.
Also, since a metal-air battery has a low risk of ignition at an abnormally high temperature, the metal-air battery has high stability. Since a metal-air battery operates only by absorbing and emitting oxygen without using a heavy metal, the metal-air battery has a low risk of environmental pollution. Metal-air batteries have recently been actively studied because of such various advantages.
Due to the advantages of meta-air batteries, additional methods of further increasing the capacity and life of the metal-air battery are needed.